Water is an increasingly costly necessity and in many areas it is also frequently a scarce commodity. The costs of treatment, supply and the associated waste treatment have resulted in dramatic rises in water costs in recent years. The weather patterns have also been unsettled providing periods of excess water and then dry periods where reservoirs and surface water supplies have been severely depleted causing water emergencies where use is strictly limited. In a few areas in recent years, a total use limit has been set. There is clearly a financial and an environmental reason to limit the use of water, especially since much of our "use" is actually waste when faucets run while other actions are taking place. Water conservation is a need.
The list of gadgets that can be used to redirect water is vast. The early faucet attachments were sold in the 1940's and consisted of rubber cones with internal bumps to engage the end of tub faucets. These friction based attaching heads were used to redirect water to a spray head thus providing a shower like flow within the bathtub. Most of these gadgets redirect and do not save water. There is a need for a water saver.
There have been a number of devices, especially those for a bathtub faucet, that attempt to attach to a faucet and convey streams of water to a place where they can be used more easily. The early tubs were soon followed by a series of spray head terminated hoses that slidably engaged the stubby faucet within a cone of rubber that, held onto the faucet by friction, conveyed the water to the spray and made the tub more like a shower. The attachments of that period emphasized the firm attachment of the hose to the faucet and any device that could not resist water pressure in use and popped off the faucet was a commercial failure. Other devices attached to faucets. Spray heads that proceeded the aerator now in use on almost all kitchen and bathroom faucets were often slidable pressed over the tip of a faucet and clamped or held in place by rings that acted like O ring gaskets. In all cases, firm resistance to the water pressure so that a maximum flow was possible was a key goal.
Garden watering also represents an area where there was major patenting efforts over the years. U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,744 to Falcetti as an example emphasizes an angled support and heads that provide a fan shaped spray. Large volume flows are critical in these applications and the square shape of the nozzle and its fixed attachment to a hose are critical in functioning of this device. Other shaped flows designed for a high rate of flow are shown in an invention of Chow (U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,512) where a pistol grip housing has several rotatable nozzles. The Garden nozzles are designed to handle high pressures and to maximize flows so watering is possible over a distance and is quick.
Volume controls are also well known. The simple restrictor orifice plates added to shower heads that limit the flow of water, thus reducing water use, and the aerator with screens that by merging air and water streams makes a flow seem larger are both aspects of flow restriction. The tailoring of flows in shape is noted from paint sprayers and similar nozzle technology.
Pressure limitations are usually applies in water flows at the meter end of a household water system. While these pressure controls are large and bulky, the more common pressure limits are on hot water heaters where they are safety devices set to release pressure rather than to allow the heater to burst. The use of pressure limiting devices to restrict flow of water at the use point seems sadly neglected. Full flows and tap pressures are typically used for tasks such as cleaning razors and toothbrushes. The cleaning is helped by hitting the razors on the sink or squeezing brushes. The flows ideal to such cleaning tasks are not very useful for other large volume water uses and so the usual full flow from the faucet is used for nearly all tasks. This will be a future problem as water supplies become increasingly tight and the regulation dominated costs of water and sewage continue to escalate.
There were also a variety of cleaners, specifically a number of razor cleaners. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,492 a specific razor rinsing device is shown where an attachment to a faucet is made by means of a slidable grip that allows a flow of water from the faucet to the strip jet that is directed upon a razor that is fixed in a cleaning jig positioning device. While the device directs a water flow, the flow is fixed and does not reduce the volume of water used.
A further razor cleaner is revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,949 where Dugrot again uses an attachment to a conventional water faucet by means of a watertight engaging means which is a slide on faucet cover, the water flow going through the narrowed jet orifice then impinging on a deflector plate to create a fan shaped water stream which impinges upon a razor which is placed in a fixed locator guide rail device. Aside from complexity, the Dugrot device provides a useful flow but then restricts the use to only a razor and further does not restrict water volume.
A further razor cleaner by Kellis (U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,387) attaches to a fluid source or faucet with a telescoping chamber to hold a razor and a water distributor that directs the flow over the razor which is fixedly mounted within a chamber and then to a drain. The attachment to the faucet is a press on internal attachment to the faucet.
Razors are cleaned in a casing that holds a cartridge with a water inlet where the water is directed to and through the blade area toward the interior of the razor head then to the drain. The device in this U.S. Pat. No. (4,480,387) s again a fixed holder that accommodates a blade cartridge with a relatively watertight seal to force water through the blade area.
Not all cleaners that are faucet attachable are used for razors. Eberle used a water flow in U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,468 to clean dentures by clamping shell shaped segments to a faucet and directing the water flow from the faucet through and around a set of dentures to clean them. Again volume of water is not reduced and the device is a one purpose cleaner that uses as much pressure as possible to clean.
Attachments are also patented with U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,123 to Hyde showing a typical shower head attachment which shows a permanent attachment of a spray nozzle using a metal ring to apply pressure to a gasket which is forced inwardly to hold onto a knob of metal. This is not easily removable so any use makes the shower only usable with the spray pattern of the flow deflector.
There is also a considerable technology in jet or nozzle shapes and attachments. In D320,063 a cone is shown but the attachment is threaded which limits detachability and makes for a permanent attachment. The same problem exists for D322,837 which is a multijet flow device and for the hand spray of the multijet Pat. D318,517.
Water jets are used in a number of interesting Patents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,951 is a fingernail cleaner where a jet of water is discharged into a chamber that holds a finger where the jet is combined with a soap or other cleaner prior to impingement in a very complex device attached to a water source. A similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,965 where again a fixed position of a finger or toe is used inside a cleaning chamber and where the amount of cleaner can be varied.
The vegetable washer of U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,051 is a unique device where a faucet attachment is used to attach a bag that holds vegetables while a shower of water droplets cleans the dirt and sand from the vegetables. The device however lacks flow or pressure limiting capability and has a gentle spray action.
Mere nozzles are also patented with Sakka showing a nozzle that uses a slot cut into a conical shape that allows a reactor output to be combined with water or another fluid.
The predominate nozzle technology is paint based and U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,319 which shows a tubular channel with two inner orifices, one of which is biconvex shaped to provide a flat pattern spray which is fan shaped. The nozzle is threadably affixed to a liquid source and requires a set minimum pressure to work.
A more typical nozzle tip is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 618,101 where a removable pressure resistant attachment of a bore which is intersected by a slot that together provide a fan shaped flow of fluid under pressure. Other more complex nozzles are shown with U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,104 for a coaxial flow typical of the complex nozzle technology.
Volume controls are also well known. The simple restrictor orifice plates added to shower heads that limit flow of water and the aerator that by merging air and water streams makes a flow seem larger are both aspects of flow restriction. The tailoring of flows in shape is noted from paint sprayers and similar nozzle technology.
General pressure limitations are usually applied to water flows at the meter end of a household system. While these pressure controls are large and bulky, the more common pressure limits are on hot water heaters where they are safety devices set to release pressure rather than to allow the heater to burst. The use of pressure limiting devices to restrict flow of water at the point of use seems sadly neglected. Full flows and tap pressures are typically used for tasks such as cleaning razors and toothbrushes. The flows ideal to such cleansing tasks are not very useful for other large volume water uses and so the usual full flow from the faucet is used for nearly all tasks. This will be a future problem as water supplies become increasingly tight and the regulation dominated costs of water and sewage continue to escalate.